These are a few of my favorite things...

I absolutely love thrift stores, and when I found a box of vintage wooden dominoes for sale at a little shop in a nearby town, I snatched them up. Dominoes can be used in so many creative ways, but after participating in an altered domino swap recently where my contribution was a necklace, that's where I decided to start.

I began by sanding the edges of the dominoes to add to their vintage and rustic appeal. The above domino features embossed foil tape that I colored with alcohol ink. Foil tape seems to be my new favorite thing as far as creative endeavors go.

I am often drawn to this pen nib stamp; it's definitely a favorite. This is actually a section cut out from the stamped image. I think this calls to the writer in me, as well as the lover of nearly all things vintage. The color on this piece was provided via watercolor pencils, specifically Inktense pencils. They're amazing! I wish they'd let me be their spokesperson. Once you brush them with water, they become as vibrant as ink. So much fun, and the best watercolor pencils ever, in my humble opinion. I finished this necklace with a coat of dimensional glaze (also on my list of favorite things) to give a glossy, glass-like appearance.

I believe the above necklace may be my favorite of the three. I liked it so much, I actually made another pendant just like it to keep for myself. This one was colored with Distress Inks (yep, you guessed it, favorite stamping ink) and also finished with dimensional glaze.

All three of these necklaces are available for sale in my Etsy shop right now. In the works is a bracelet made from some of the dominoes and also featuring the pen nib stamp. I haven't decided yet whether to part with it or keep it for myself...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you all an artful and glorious day filled with some of your favorite things.

Sale in my Etsy shop.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

As I'm busy creating new items for my Etsy shop, I'm also trying to clear some old stock. I currently have a sale going, so if you see something you like, grab it now while the price is right!

Blue Monkey Market Just use the coupon code SPRINGCLEANING to receive 25% off of anything in my store. Out with the old, in with the new!

Hope everyone has a beautiful day!

Lots of cards!

i've got several cards to show today; i've been busy! i've been working on a couple projects for friends, as well as simple cards that i can make duplicates of to put up for sale. These first two fall into the latter category.

Basic, but i love the colors and this paper.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - MME; stamps - Papertrey's "Mixed Messages", Art Warehouse's "Ribbons and Lace"; ink - Ranger Distress, Versafine; pop-dots; eyelet - MM.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - MME; stamps - Inka.'s "Birds Galore", Papertrey's "Mixed Messages"; ink - Versamagic, Versafine, Colorbox Chalk; blue paint (spatter effect); ribbon - Offray?; eyelet - MM.

This was a card made for a friend/customer for an engagement. i struggled over the layout of this for awhile, but then one day it just fell together.

Ingredients: CS - The Paper Company, stash; PP - ?; stamps - Studio G (heart), Inka.'s "Sketchy Flourishes", Hero Arts' "Friendship Messages"; ink - Colorbox, Versamark/Versafine, Colorbox Chalk; ribbon - Ofrray; brads - American Crafts; pop-dots.

This was part of a batch for one of my best friends. i made her some baby announcements as a gift for her shower. All the cards followed the same layout but used different animal stickers for the focal point. Her and her husband have decorated the nursery with a farming theme, and my original idea was to have the focal point be a tractor and i wanted to use a stamp. Let me tell you, i looked all over for a tractor stamp that fit what i saw in my head and i couldn't find it! If i'd had more time to scour the net i may have found what i needed, but oh well. These came out ok and she was thrilled! i put her cards in a photo box with a fat decorated paper clip, a matching mini-comp book, a little photo album and some pens to fill out the announcements. Once the price of postage stamps go up in May, i'm going to send some her way, too.

Ingredients: CS - stash, Bazzill, Colorbok; blue PP - Rob and Bob; stamps - Papertrey's "Mixed Messages", Inka.'s "Tree" set (clouds); ink - Colorbox; stickers - Stickapotomus; ribbon - Offray; pop-dots; "it's a boy" was done on the computer.

This was just for fun!

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - Swirls V:1, Inka.'s "Birds Galore", Hero Arts "Friendship Messages"; ink - Versafine, Versamagic, Ranger Distress; embossing powder; brads - MM.

This card is so different from what i normally do, but i like it!

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - EK Success (flowers in background and crown), "Mixed Messages"; ink - Colorbox Chalk and pigment, Versafine; ribbon - Bobbin; brad - MM; Stickles; pop-dots.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!